Venezuela's Chavez Promises To Quit If He Loses Recall Vote

U.S. & LATIN AMERICA - Latin America & Caribbean - In Brief

January 13, 2004

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez promised to leave office if he lost a recall referendum on his rule, but he warned that election authorities could lose the public's trust if they approved a petition he insisted was fraudulent. "If I lose a referendum . . . I'll leave," Chavez said in an unusual interview with the opposition-aligned El Universal newspaper. "Well-informed Venezuelans, even adversaries, know I'm no tyrant."